New City Ordinance Limits Hours Dogs Can Be Tied Up
www.sun-sentinel.com
July 27 2005, DANIA BEACH, FLORIDA -- Residents will no longer be allowed to leave their dogs tied up alone during the day.
Under an ordinance approved on Tuesday by commissioners, residents will be allowed to tether dogs for no more than an hour between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. In addition, someone at least 15 years old must supervise the pet while it is tied up.
The ordinance also says that owners must provide their dogs with clean, safe and humane conditions.
Those caught breaking the rules could be subject to a $500 fine or 60 days in the county jail, or both.
The ordinance will go into effect today.
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Dania Considers Ban on Tethering Dogs Outdoors
July 25 2005, DANIA BEACH, FLORIDA -- Dogs that live at the end of a chain may soon be liberated.
City officials are considering an ordinance that would outlaw tying or chaining dogs outdoors.
"We cannot go through another summer with these dogs tied up with no water, no shade," Vice Mayor Pat Flury said. "This ordinance will give the city a legal remedy for people who abuse these animals."
More than 70 communities in the United States have laws protecting tethered dogs. Palm Beach County jumped on board in 2003, then last month the city of Hollywood.
Dania commissioners are set to vote at 7 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall.
These ordinances are driven by two things: a concern for public safety, especially for children who are the most common victims of chained dog attacks, and dogs dying at the ends of chains with no food, water or shelter in sight.
In Dania the proposed ordinance would ban outdoor tethering, tying or chaining. Dogs may be temporarily tethered, for no more than an hour, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. if accompanied by someone at least 15 years old.
The ordinance also says that owners must provide their dogs with clean, safe and humane conditions. Those caught breaking the rules would be subject to a $500 fine or 60 days in the county jail, or both.
Palm Beach County and Hollywood restrict tethering between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. And all tethers must be at least 6 feet in length and may not be attached to choke- or prong-type collars unless the animal is under the handler's direct control.
Dania Beach commissioners took up the ordinance after a resident talked to them in June about the dangers of tethering dogs. However, Flury said she has received numerous calls in the past from residents upset about dogs that were left unattended and tied up for long periods of time.
"It's not like someone's calling every week or month, but when it occurs, we'll get two or three calls from different people," she said. "I've had several complaints, but this is not a problem that is unique to Dania Beach."
The Broward County Animal Care and Regulation Advisory Board is working on a countywide ordinance, said Loretta Murray, a board member and Dania Beach resident. The advisory board will present it to county commissioners within about six months.
Armed with photos of these neglected dogs, Murray came to Dania commissioners asking them to outlaw tethering several months ago. Last month they finally gave tentative approval.
"Every day I drive by a dog that is tied up and stuck in the sun," said Murray, who started the non-profit dog rescue group St. Martin de Porres' Help for the Handicapped and Homeless Hounds about two years ago. "He gets food and water, but it's just not enough. That's no life for a dog, especially in this horrible heat."
The Humane Society of Broward County, located in Dania Beach, is also working to stop tethering through its Break the Chain campaignIn the past 12 months, at least 52 Americans were attacked by chained dogs, and at least 33 of them were 12 or younger, said Dan Paden, a cruelty caseworker for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Of those, four kids were killed, he said.
In 1991, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that a tethered dog is 2.8 times more likely to attack a human than a non-tethered dog.
"Tethering is a public welfare hazard and it violates every aspect of a dog's nature and psychology," Paden said. "These statistics show how serious a threat chained dogs are to kids."
